Greece has announced a new national initiative to reward top-performing students in the 2025 Panhellenic Examinations, the highly competitive university entrance exams taken by high school graduates across the country.
A total of €500,000 has been allocated by the State Scholarships Foundation (IKY) to fund the new Awards of Excellence program, established by joint decision of the Deputy Ministers of National Economy and Finance, Athanasios Petralias, and of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, Nikolaos Papaioannou.
The program aims to recognize and support academic excellence among students who achieve the highest scores in this year’s national exams and gain admission to Greek universities for the 2025–2026 academic year. According to the government decision, published in the Official Gazette on October 27, 2025, the initiative underscores Greece’s broader commitment to promoting merit and rewarding exceptional academic performance.
Under the new scheme, the top five first-year students in each university school or department will receive an Award of Excellence, based on their ranking in the Panhellenic Examinations. Each recipient will be presented with an honorary diploma printed on parchment and signed by the Minister of Education and the President of the IKY Board.
In addition, the top-ranked student in every department will receive a €1,000 cash prize, provided they have not already received another public award or scholarship exceeding €500 for the same achievement. If that condition applies, the prize will instead go to the next student in line.
University administrations will forward the names of eligible students to the IKY, and recipients will submit their personal and banking details electronically to receive their awards. Payments will be processed through IKY’s financial services in accordance with all legal and administrative procedures.
